Wednesday, 29 October 2014

It was just on the last post that I was complaining about the dull weather.
Someone up there was listening ... or so I'd like to believe.
For, the weather changed immediately the next day and the morning was chilly and cold.
The evenings already have that dry, wintery smell in the air. Coupled with the smoke of wood fire coming from the make shift chulhas the new workers for a construction have set up, winter seems to be already here. At least on my balcony, right now; these evenings.

And also when I went downstairs to go to the fishwala for my weekly stash of fish, I couldnt help but stop awhile and draw a deep breath. High up on the building, while I do get the best of sunlight and wind, I do not get the smell of the trees and the damp smell of water and earth mixed with the fresh smell of trodden grass.
To this mix the smell of woodfire and smoke and chilly air of an evening; I though I was in heaven.
No ... I thought I was home.

Back home, I used to love these smells that now have settled in my memories and help me describe home. So when I think of home, I do see the two huge ponds on the left and the right of the entrance with the walkway going through them. But I also think of the fishy smell of the water from the ponds, coupled with crisp, clean air and the smell of grass. Mixed with them the smell of the mango trees. And the smoke drifting from the chulhas that the helps used to cook.
And so many other smells mixed together ... I cannot put a finger on each one.

But it is the winter mornings that I love best. The smell of, that is.
That clean smell in the crisp and biting cold air. Coupled with the smell of toasted bread and eggs poached in butter, sunny side up with a dash of salt and pepper. With that would be the wonderful smell of hot milk. The breakfast that we had most days, sitting out in the lawn under the sun ,in huge cane chairs; with Dadu. We would surely be holding a notebook and a pencil each ... the brood was supposed to be doing their studies in the sun ... but studying was the last thing we would be doing at the time. Not when Dadu was with us. :-)

Those are the best memories of my childhood winters.
Later I would grow up and associate winter with many other foods, but winter mornings will always
stay in my memory as a mix of biting cold, fuzzy warmth, breakfasts smelling like heaven and a lot of laughter.

It is difficult to change tracks right away ; I feel like writing on and on. But I have to get to today's recipe. And get this post over with.
The madness of Diwali has passed by. And I have just got hold of a very good book.
Need to get back to it as soon as possible. :-)

This recipe is again belongs to the Mother in law. As most Rajasthani recipes on my blog do.
Growing up, I had never eaten Arbi or Kochu, as it called in Bengali.
I am not counting if it has been smuggled into me in the form of a ghonto (a mixed vegetables dish) or a chanchra ( again a mixed vegetable dish ... that often had fish head too).
As far as I remember, I had never even seen a kochu or arbi till I grew up and got married.

B had very enthusiastically got a lot once when he had gone green grocery shopping.
And had excitedly announced it. I failed to return the enthusiasm with proper intensity as I was too busy studying a piece of vegetable that looked pitifully deformed to me.
Worse, every piece was different from the other. I was worried he had got something abnormal.
I mean there is so much of playing around with genes etc. of stuff going on.

Not to give up, B did what he does best. Call Mom.
She, on her part, very happily rattled off at least three or four dishes ... after all it was her son's favourite vegetable. And I , on my part, was still coming to terms with hing. And now this deformed vegetable. I was in a daze.
But then I went ahead and made that first dish that I had named as Creamy Arbi. And had the audacity to post it, in all innocence.
Btw ... it is a hot favourite with the man and his family .. heaven's grace. :-)

Today, I do cook Arbi in many avatars. Ok ... just five or six kinds ... but that is many to me.
And if you ask me, I'll say the truth.
I do not eat Arbi. Or Kochu. Still.

Ma in law has this way of dumping all the masalas together and adding to a dish.
Bengalis would add a dash of water to that and koshao or bhuno it.
Not she.
If you see my Kundru ki sabzi and Gawar ki sabzi, you will know of this way.
So that is how I fry the boiled Arbi too ... dunk it in a mix of masalas and fry till crisp.
Now, when I get Arbi, I divide the lot into two; I make this, along with a sabzi.

I usually make it for dinner as B likes to much on these with some salad and chutney. But I finally made these during the day to be able to click photographs and make a post.

You may call this a Kochur cutlet in Bengali, if you want to. But the flavours will still stay Rajasthani. To get the Bengali flavours, you can make a mix of the Bhaja moshla + rice flour ( chaler guro ) + amchur powder + salt + red chilli powder ( lonka guro ) + salt + a pinch of kalo jeere / kalonji / nigella seeds .... and fry it in mustard oil.

Soak the arbi in enough water. Scrub it clean.
Boil in a pressure cooker with a little salt for two whistles on low flame.
Remove lid and drain immediately.
Spread on a plate and let it dry well.

( I keep it overnight in the fridge, uncovered. And suggest you do the same, if possible.
This dries the arbi completely and there is no slime on it and makes it easier to peel.
If not overnight, at least for half an hour. )

Peel it.

Cut into small flat pieces. This will be difficult due to its uneven shapes.
You can halve them too and press with your hands to flatten them.

Make a mix of all the dry ingredients.

Dunk in the arbi pieces and press gently for the masalas to coat the pieces properly.

Heat oil in a shallow, open faced pan.

Arrange the arbi pieces and fry till golden brown on one side.

Turn them over and fry the other side too.

Serve hot with chutneys or ketchup and salad, as a snack.
Can be enjoyed on the side with a main meal too.

This is one recipe that has helped me to convert. Yes, I do enjoy the kochu in this version.

Monday, 27 October 2014

The sky has been gloomy for the past 3 days now.
And it has been raining too.
The cold is biting. Nor yet damp. But biting.
The sun hasn't been around for what seems like ages now.
I am being patient and have, so far, quietly accepted its absence.
After all, it was kindly around for the Diwali cleaning to be done with smoothly.
It was around even when Hudhud was playing its deadly dance.
So maybe it can rest for a while.
But I need back soon.
I mean it will soon be November. And it looks like the monsoons have never left.

As for my friends and readers, I do hope that all of you have had a beautiful, bright and safe Diwali.
For me, Diwali was good. I mean really good.
The cleaning was done in time.
The namkeens and sweets, whatever few I could make, were done in time too.
The fairy lights were strung up in time.
We got the deepaks and other things required for pooja in time.
And Diwali went smoothly by.
I do not know what the next year will bring for me. But for today, I tried my best. :-)

There are no photos, however, of this year's celebrations to share with you.
If you are following Kichu Khonn on Facebook, then you might have seen the updates and the photographs of the namkeens and sweets and other things; but I do not have any proper photgraphs for the blog this year.
This is quick snap on the phone. There will be good photographs when I make posts of these.

Diwali at home is a huge thing. Numerous rituals and ever more pujas. Mehendi and and jwellery. Cleaning the house and decorating it. Cooking huge meals and numerous snacks, to be enjoyed by the family as well as offered to guests that pour in. Meeting friends and relatives. Being with family.
Everything.

I am not an expert on traditions and rituals pertaining to Diwali but try earnestly to learn and follow whatever I get to see and be a part of.

Diwali starts with Dhanteras, when new ornaments or kitchen utensils or anything new is purchased.
The house is cleaned every morning ... early in the morning, before sunrise, and evening.
Fresh Rangolis are drawn both times too. So are the diyas or small, earthern lamps lit.
My mother in law draws wonderful geometric patterns as rangolis and fills them with natural things like atta, turmeric powder and roli .. a red coloured powder.
I did try to make an alpona , the Bengali way of drawing a rangoli but with soaked rice powder and with the help of cotton balls held between the fingers, this time.
But for someone who can't draw to save her life, or anybody elses life for that matter, it was quite a task.
I just drew the feet of Goddess Lakshmi, with some patterns around it and prayed to her to step into my home ... ignoring the misshapen feet.

Anyway, coming back to Diwali, Rajasthanis worship the kalash or Parendi, in which they store drinking water. The Tulsi and the Amla plants are worshipped too.
Since the change in seasons starts from Diwali time, i.e. the monsoons taking their leave and winter setting in, the Amla or Gooseberry is a good source of vitamin C and helps build immunity ... thus helping the human body to cope with the change. So is a revered plant. As is the Tulsi, which we all know how good is for us.
Ghee filled Deepaks are lit and aarti is done for both plants everyday.

On Narak Chaturdashi, we, at home, light diyas to form a huge Om sign. The whole family does this together and is a family tradition.

Diwali morning sees some more, around 3 to 4 different kinds of pujas.
Later in the evening, after the Lakshmi pujan, the lamps are lit and set about all over inside the house and outside too. There shouldn't be a single dark spot anywhere in the house or the garden.

The day after Diwali is the New year for Rajasthanis and Gujaratis.
On this day Lord Krishna is worshipped with an offering of at least 56 food items ... or the Chappan bhog, and the ritual is called Annakut.
Anna is food and Kut is hill or mountain.
So the food offered under the Govardhan hill came to be known as Annakut.

The story goes like this -
Once it had rained continiously for 7 days and 7 nights in Brajdham, Krishna's place of childhood.
To protect the villagers, Krishna had help up the Govardhan hill on his little finger and they took shelter under it. Common lore has it that the during that time, every villager cooked whatever dish they could and brought it from their own homes and ate together under the hill.
Another story goes that the villagers cooked a huge feast with various kinds of dishes and offered it to Lord Krishna for saving them from the storm and rains.

Whatever the story, Annakut is basically a feast cooked and eaten by families together.
The food is first offered to Lord Krishna, an aarti is done and then the family sits down for lunch.
The menu is huge ... traditionally. But every house cooks according to its own convinience.

The vegetables that are cooked on this day are usually winter vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, that would be available fresh henceforth, due to the passing by of monsoons and setting in of winter.
I've heard that my mother in law, once upon a time, would cook more than the actual Chappan (56) bhog. The number of dishes has long declined but she does maintain the tradition of cooking and eating only seasonal vegetables. She even has a beautiful rhyme on this to make it easy to remember what vegetables to eat on which seasons.
I'll try to get it from her the next time we meet.

Signing off today with a photograph of our family Annakut layout last year.

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Wishing all the readers, followers and visitors of Kichu Khonn a very happy and auspicious Dhanteras and Narak Charurdashi!

While we bring in the new in the form of anything like new jwellery or utensils for ourselves or our families and homes on Dhanteras, Narak Chaturdashi is celebrated by lighting of fourteen lamps and cooking and consuming fourteen varieties of shaak or leafy vegetables by the Bengalis.
This signifies the end of the rainy season ... when you are not supposed to consume leafy vegetables ... and the arrival of fresh vegetables along with winter.

My in-laws celebrate the same on the day just after Diwali and call it Annakut. I'll make a post on it next.

Meanwhile, I tried my best to bring in the Diwali spirit this year, after two whole years of no celebrations.

B went out of his way to get all the fairy lights and deepaks and lamps.
Last night, in spite of having a marathon meetings and presentation, he strung up the lights late in the night so by around 2 am our windows and balcony were filled with glittering and flickering, colourful lights.

I, on my part, did my best to rustle up a few namkeens and sweet dishes.
Was down with a tummy bug, so making any delicacies was a little difficult for me, especially when the wonderful smells wafted around in the house.

I made the Rosh Bora, Poha mixture, my instant Moong dal halwa and some Ajwaini sev.
Since this is a hurried post, I won't go into the recipes.
Will post them soon, hopefully.

Till then, hope you have a beautiful festival time.
May the lights remove all darkness from our lives.

Friday, 17 October 2014

Another day has gone by.
And I hardly notice.
It is only late in the evening, when I am finally free, that I realise how fast the day has passed.
And this has been going on for the last close to one month.

After the hectic days of Durga puja, preparations for Diwali have started.
Whatever little I can do, I am doing.
I can't do heavy duty cleaning and cooking like I used to do in the past.
Neither can I whip up huge amounts and varieties of snacks and sweets for Diwali.
Still, I'm trying.

The weather gods aren't helping either.
Most days are cloudy, sometimes it rains too.
Still, I am almost done with most of the cleaning.
Quilts and covers and sheets and linens washed and stored away.
My huge stack of books and curios cleaned and are shining bright.
The kitchen is cleaned and all the bottles labeled. Just the curtain on the kitchen window needs to be changed.
The fridge and the MW shining like new.
Ok, the fridge is new. But still, I did clean it all over again. So ...
Phew!!

I am now planning to make some sweets and savoury stuff from tomorrow.
I know it won't be much but B says it is good that I am,at least, being able to think of making some ... as compared to my condition last year; so I should be happy.
I however, in my heart, am praying.
And keeping all my fingers and toes crossed.

And amidst all this, there is everyday cooking.
After all that gorging during Durga puja, I have turned back to simple comfort food.
Dal, rice, some vegetable fry on the side, a light fish curry ... if I have fish at hand ... on some days.
On other days it is dal, roti and some vegetable dish.

Except for tonight, when I went out of the way and made some Mishti bhaat / Polau for myself.
Also made a spicy Mangshor jhol or Mutton curry ...slightly dryish ... to go with it.

From tomorrow, it will be comfort food in my kitchen ... again.

The very favourite and familiar Aloo bhate / Bengali way of mashed potatoes is sometimes given a slight change in look and flavour by tempering and frying it a little.
Add some crispy fried and lightly crushed Boris / Vadis to it and it is the perfect accompaniment to a simple meal of dal and rice.

The difference between the two is while the Aloo bhate is mashed with raw onions, raw mustard oil, salt and fresh green chilles, the tempered version has all of these but lightly fried in mustard oil.
Also, the potato mash is fried too.
And has dry red chillies instead of the fresh green ones.

Heat the oil in a kadahi.
Add the mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, break the chillies and add.
Then add the sliced onions and fry till well done.
Add the mashed potato and turmeric powder.
Mix well. Adjust salt.
Fey well, mixing everything well.
Lastly, add the crushed badis/boris and mix well.
Remove from heat.

Here is a picture of a light lunch of Mushurir dal, rice, pumpking fry and tempered and fried aloo mash.
Comfort food at its best.
Enjoy!!

We made a sudden, impromptu and very quick trip to Shirdi a few days back.
I am giving a small detail here as I realised I had never made a post on any of our Shirdi trips on my Travel blog.

We left Pune early in the morning at around 7 am, reached Shirdi at around 11 am and went straight to the temple.
Had darshan ... there was no rush as it was a weekday ... and I could spend a quiet 5 to 7 minutes in front of Sai Baba.This time we got some prasad from the temple too, that was being handed out just before the main hall.
Came out of the temple and went for lunch at Shraddha Sarovar Portico, our favourite place of stay whenever we are in Shirdi. Only this time we did not stay.
After lunch and a little rest, we left Shirdi around 3 pm and reached Pune at around 7 pm.
Our marathon trip done!!

In case you are interested, the best route from Pune to Shirdi is - Pune - Ahmednagar - Ghodegaon - Shani Shingnapur - Shirdi.
The highway is excellent all along. But the stretch from Shani Shingnapur to Shirdi is good only for around 6 to 8 kms. After that it is extermely bad, all the way till Shirdi. That is the only dark spot on the otherwise perfect road condition.
The road is filled with crater sized pot holes and loose gravel.
You need to be extra careful on this stretch, especially when there is heavy traffic ... usually on weekends and holidays.

If I am not able to make another post before Diwali, here is wishing you a very happy Diwali!!
Kichu Khonn and I hope that the festival of lights brings much joy to you and your families!!

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

I know it is a little late but for Probashi Bangalis the time is extended till Diwali ... right?
So technically, I'm not too late.

May the good always prevail in your lives.
And may the good help you with courage.

I had a whale of a time this Durga Puja.
Celebrating after almost 2 years, back in my city, among familiar people and smells and places, I was really at peace.
Nothing can compare to the warm exuberance the people of Pune celebrate Durga puja with.

This time B was hell bent on making up for the two years of lack lustre Puja that I had to deal with.
So we had started off the celebrations on the day of Panchami itself.
Not to mention the drives every evening before that to see if the pandals are done and the idols have arrived.

The first two evenings, Panchami and Shasti, we spent at Congress Bhavan, one of the oldest Puja pandals in Pune.
Went for Pushpanjali and Aarti to Rohi Villa at Koregaon park for Shaptami, Ashtami and Navami.
That is my favourite puja pandal.

Evenings were divided between various other places.
But it was Rohi villa for the Dhunuchi naach and aarti, every evening.

And then it was pandal hopping.
Not to forget the gorging on delicacies like fish chops, rolls, biryani and luchi kosha mangsho.
Singaras and veg chops and mishti doi and rosogollas for B.

Among the various places we visited the Kalyani nagar puja pandal, the AFMC pandal, the Kali bari pujo and the new Viman nagar pandal.

We had the khichuri bhog at Congress bhavan on Shaptami and Rohi villa on Ashtami and Nabami.

The cultural programmes in the evenings are more watchable at Rohi villa than any other place.
This year the musical program on Nabami night was wonderful and a perfect round off for our perfect Pujo.

The stalls are few and with average products at Rohi villa. Among the food stalls, the only mentionable one is Pradeep caterers from Bombay. They served awesome food and had different stalls for pure vegetarian and non vegetarian food .... a huge help for vegetarians like B.
While Congress bhavan has the maximum number of food stalls with a huge variety of foods, it was only Radhika that ruled in both flavour and hygiene.

That is the line for Bhog in the afternoon at Rohi Villa, Koregaon Park.
The line on the left is for all and the line on the right is for senior citizens only.
Extremely well managed and a wonderful menu that changed everyday, this puja is indeed perfect in every way.

All too soon, it was Dashami and time to say goodbye to Durga.
While this year Nabami and Dashami had fallen on one day, the puja organisers everywhere had decidedto keep the deities for one more day, thus allowing us full celebration of five whole days.

The evening of Dashami saw a very light rain with dark clouds as Durga started her journey back.
The sun came out later to spread a golden hue all over.
The Visharjan was done amidst dhaak and dancing and dhuno.
And lots of Sindur on everybody after the Debi boron.

And all too soon, she was gone!

"Asche bochor abar esho Ma!"
We will wait eagerly for you.

Hope all of you had a wonderful Durga Puja!
Please do share your experience with me. I'd love to hear your stories too.

I had made similar posts on Durga Puja a few years back.
The writing and the enthusiasm was far better then.

Sunday, 5 October 2014

I love the quiet of mornings. Early mornings.
And the time I get to spend with myself.
Earlier, when I was young, I would get up very early and sit by the window with whatever book I would be reading then.
While staying up late into the night and reading has always been my favourite, rising early and getting to read in the quiet has a different charm of its own.
Especially during the summers.

My window overlooked our garden that always used to stay abundant with all kinds of flowers ... thanks to Ma. The biggest patch was of the roses.
Surrounded by the lawn, there were two big sized rounds that held the Dahlias.
During winters, these two circles held the largest Dahlias I've seen yet.
Beyond them was a patch that held different kinds of Chrysanthemums.
The lawn was bordered with two layers .... one of the yellow and white button chrysanthemums, and a reddish coloured shrub whose leaves changed colour every season ,,, that is four times in a year.
At the turn of a season they would magically turn into red, yellow, green and white .... all through the year.
They fascinated me.

Beyond these was the vegetable garden.
Winters would see fresh shiny leaves of the spinach and the coriander, glistening in the soft early morning sun.
There were carrots and beet shrubs too.
As there were green peas creepers.
On there right stood regally a lemon tree, providing us with a continious supply of lemons throughout the year.

And beyond all this, just in front of the garage, on a side, stood a grapefruit tree.
And that was one tree that I loved dearly.
Because it made my summer mornings so so special.
I would sit beside the window on early summer mornings, sometimes reading and sometimes looking out at the garden, watching the sun rays slowly lighten it up from the east ... the book lying half open in my hands.
I only half hear the birds and other small sounds coming in once in a while.
For I am too caught up with the fragrance in the air.
The fragrance of the flowering grapefruit tree.

Citrusy, light, heady ... all at the same time. Intoxicating.
The flowers of the grapefruit tree are beautiful .... white and yellow or cream.
But I was more enchanted with the smell.
I would sometimes walk down the lawn and stand underneath it.
Combining with the freshness of the morning grass, the lingering dew and the slowly turning warm sunlight, this is one fragrance that made those summer mornings of my childhood precious.
It will always stay with me.
Forever.

I have never come across another grapefruit tree ever since I left home.
And the one back at home exists no longer.
And I still love quiet mornings.
But I will never forget those summer mornings, quiet and heady with the fragrance of the flowers of the grapefruit tree, wafting in the fresh morning air and creating memories in a young mind.

From talking of summer mornings, let us turn to breakfast for winter mornings.
I had made this lightly spiced Potato and Cauliflower dryish dish and some Parathas for a winter morning.
Bringing some old photographs to the light of the day again.

Since it was winter, I had made this slightly spicy with some onion+garlic masala.
Paired with the atta / whole wheat parathas or fried flat breads, it made for a filling breakfast.
I'm sure this was some weekend breakfast, after which we must have gone off for one of our long drives that we are so fond of.
Must have been ... it is such a long way back I hardly remember now.

Heat oil.
Add the whole garam masalas.
Add the onion slices and fry on low heat till they start to turn brown.
Add the ginger and the garlic paste.
Stirring all the while, add the haldi powder+red chilli powder.
Add the potatoes + the cauliflower.
If needed, add a little water.
Give a good stir on high heat.
Add salt and water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
Add the tomato, sugar and some more water.
Cook well.
Sprinkle the garam masala, cover and simmer for around a minute.
Remove from heat.

This was accompanied with the Tinkona or the triangle parota.
Why triangle? Because there are the square and round parathas too.
Hence the mention.

For the Paratha : ( I'll update this with some photographs sometime later )

Mix everything, except the water, well.
Now slowly add the water and knead well to make a soft yet firm dough.
Keep covered for around 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into medium sized balls.

Take a ball of the dough and roll it between your palms to make it smooth.
Dust the rolling place with some flour.
Now roll out a circle from the dough.
Apply oil on one side of the circle and fold it in half.
Apply some more oil on one side of the half and fold it to get a triangle.
Now dust it with some more flour and roll it to a paratha of medium thickness.

Heat a tawa or flat pan.
Put in the paratha and let one side cook. When it turns slightly dryish, flip it and cook for some more time.
Now raise the heat and apply oil to one side and cook till it turns brown. Flip and apply oil and cook the other side too.

Keep on flipping twice or thrice till it turns a lovely brown all over.
Remove from the tawa.
Reduce heat before adding in another one.

Serve hot to enjoy the crispiness.
Or keep covered in a tightly covered box to keep it hot and soft.

This hearty breakfast needed something sweet on the side ... as all Bengali breakfasts are wont to.
I just had some jam and so made do with it.
Lovely.

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About Me

Juggles with software, knitting, reading, cooking, classical music,writing and home decor.
Loves Enid Blyton and Rabindranath with equal passion.
Roams the country when life seems a wee little overwhelming.
And when at peace too.
Loves everything traditional and cooks with the minimal of ingredients and time.
Holds on to sun rays and moon beams with equal fervour.